Aoun Underlines Keenness to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)
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Aoun Underlines Keenness to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanese President Michel Aoun addresses the heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps at the Baabda Palace (Dalati & Nohra)

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said the accomplishment of an electoral law based on proportional representation “for the first time in the history of Lebanon, and after strenuous efforts, will ensure further political stability since it will allow a greater fairness of representation.”
 
This came on Tuesday during a speech he delivered before heads of the Arab and foreign diplomatic corps and heads of the international missions accredited to Lebanon.
 
 “I affirm my keenness on holding the parliamentary elections on time,” Aoun said, adding that the government, “which featured the major political parties, contributed to the consolidation of stability, although divergent voices rose at times, remaining though under the ceiling of political differences which enrich the democratic life.”
 
Aoun went on to say that the current government has succeeded in protecting Lebanon from surrounding conflicts.
 
“Undoubtedly, it is very difficult to maintain the security stability in an inflamed region and in a country like Lebanon which is agitated by its surrounding and interacts with it to a great extent. Nevertheless, we managed to achieve it and to prevent the spark of sedition to reach the inside of Lebanon, thanks to the joint wills and to the total coordination between all the organs after the new appointments at the level of leaderships,” he stated.
 
Aoun reiterated his call on the international community to shoulder its responsibility towards the safe return of the displaced to their country.
 
“The strategy that adopted creative chaos to prompt change has not only proven its great failure but also its catastrophic outcome,” the president said, underlining the need for a new approach that tackles the problems of people who were forced to leave their countries due to war.
 
 “There is currently a need for a new international strategy that relies on dialogue first, and on a new approach which respects the rights of the peoples and States… thus putting an end to destruction and bloodshed, and embarking on tackling the repercussions, on top of which the problem of the millions of people who were forced to leave their nations and lands and set off to the unknown,” he stated.



Marzouki’s Case Referred to Anti-Terrorism Unit, Former Tunisian President Faces 20 New Charges

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
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Marzouki’s Case Referred to Anti-Terrorism Unit, Former Tunisian President Faces 20 New Charges

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (AFP)

Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki announced on Tuesday that he had been informed his case had been transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Judicial Unit. He now faces 20 charges, including inciting internal unrest and spreading false information.
Marzouki wrote on X that his brother, Mokhles, was summoned on Monday to the police station of El Kantaoui (governorate of Sousse) to sign a document stating that Moncef Marzouki’s case had been referred to the Anti-Terrorist Judicial Unit.
Marzouki wrote that he had already been convicted to four and eight years in prison in two separate cases.
He concluded his post with a famous quote borrowed from Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi, “Night will no doubt dissipate.”
Last February, a Tunisian court sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia.
The charges against Marzouki, who lives in Paris, stemmed from remarks he made that authorities said violated laws and triggered incitement to overthrow the government.
Marzouki served as the first democratically elected president of Tunisia from 2011 to 2014.
This is the second time Moncef Marzouki has been sentenced for comments made at demonstrations and on social media. In December 2021, he received a four-year sentence for undermining state security.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Defence Minister Khaled S'hili announced that Tunisia's national army had dismantled terrorist camps, neutralized 62 landmines, and seized various materials and equipment in 2024, as part of ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism.
As of October 31, the Tunisian army had conducted 990 anti-terrorist operations in suspected areas, including large-scale operations in the country's mountainous regions. These operations involved over 19,500 military personnel, according to Defense Minister Khaled S'hili, speaking at a joint session of the two chambers of parliament.
He then confirmed that these operations led to the arrest of around 695 smugglers and the seizure of 375,000 drug pills.